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Title: Sneak Peak!

Video by SamTV from London | in film, production, behind the scenes

Here’s a little sneak peak at what I’ve been up to this August – my so-called ‘take-it-easy’ month! With the bursary, uni and work experience, it's been non-stop in 2010! But there's no rest for the wicked, I’ve had two great TV experiences to add to my now bursting arsenal. First was perhaps the culmination of everything I'd learnt, not just this year but for the last five! The short horror film I've been working on for the last few months came to fruition and was shot on location at my old school. To say I was beaming with pride would be a massive understatement! It was a frantic rush to make sure everything was sorted in the weeks beforehand in my role as Producer. The biggest problem was the seemingly endless dropouts - I soon learnt that as a low-budget filmmaker, if I hire someone, I can't compete with the lure of paid work if they're offered it! The biggest lesson learnt was the massive culture clash between 'my world' of TV and some of the crew's world of film. Whereas we're used to a fast pace and quick turn-around, the film-centric members of the crew were more painstaking and precise with their craft. This struggle ultimately left us with a scheduling problem and we didn't get to shoot everything we wanted in our very restricted timeframe. But, that said, the quality of the footage on the 7D we used was staggering! As a Producer, and Location Manager on-site, it was great to see first hand the various aspects of making a film, from casting and handling the actors, to booking crew and financing the project. We're moving now into the post-production stages and soon we'll hopefully have a great little film! The bursary also gave me a great extra nugget this month in the form of real on-set experience on a TV drama. The crew on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Switch's 'The Cut' allowed me to shadow them for the day and I got to see how a real TV drama works. The swift, slick operation was more akin to what I'm used to than the slower craft I saw on my own film, so it was great to see in action. The camera department was small but perfectly formed, with the DoP and Director working with great chemistry and the operator and assistants working professionally and at break-neck speed! The very first shot of the day, on-location in a school playground, was handheld, tracking backwards, had background noise from building work and ever-moving clouds to name just a few annoying problems! Just witnessing how the crew handled that shot alone made the day worthwhile, because it involved every member of the crew from the 1st AD through to the Camera Assistants to make it work. These two experiences really do sum up the Screen Skills bursary for me. Without Blast, I would never had had the opportunity to go on a set like The Cut, nor would I have the confidence and know-how to go out there and produce my own short film. Sums up the year quite nicely!